New engines and automatic transmission

COMMON RAIL is the new mantra for diesel engines worldwide and Frankfurt is no exception. However, as the author has pointed out before in his column Motoring Matters, adoption of common rail systems is not a matter of bolting on a new device, but typically involves several years of development and virtually amounts to designing an all new engine. This is something that some Indian vehicle manufacturers seem loathe to accept & 151; they would be better off introducing high pressure injection systems with electronically controlled distributor pumps.

Notwithstanding that, Hyundai is on the threshold of introducing a three cylinder common rail diesel powered Sonata. This new engine already sees service in Hyundai's multipurpose Matrix that may also see an Indian launch soon. The engine was developed by VM Motori, an Italian diesel engine specialist, which is now a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler. It is a three cylinder, single over head camshaft engine with a swept volume of 1.5 litres roughly the same as the Sonata's current petrol and diesel engines. However, it develops 66 kW (90 hp) and 180 newton metres of torque, the latter at only 2000 rpm. In comparison, the Accent's current petrol engine's maximum torque is only 122 Nm (at 3500 rpm), while the smooth, but anaemic diesel only has 95 Nm at 2250 rpm. The new engine's torque and power levels are considerably more than that of the Toyota Qualis and about the same as those of the Tata Safari Turbo. All this with low fuel consumption and exhaust emission levels!

New Honda engines

Honda has recently announced three new engines, one petrol and two diesel. The new diesel engine is sourced from Isuzu and is a 1700 cc, four cylinder. It was developed for, and is already in the Civic and will also make its way into `our' City. Honda is also developing a 2000 cc turbo with an aluminium engine block that is expected to be installed in the Honda Accord in 2003.

The new petrol 1300 cc four cylinder engine has two spark plugs in each combustion chamber. The sparks are activated in a different order depending on the engine speed and driving conditions, resulting in intelligent, dual-point sequential ignition control to achieve intensive fuel combustion at all engine speeds. This intensive combustion at all revs not only controls knocking but also permits a much higher compression ratio (of special interest to India considering our low octane fuel), achieving 63 kW at 5,700 rpm and 119 Nm at 2,800 rpm. The engine is also 8 per cent lighter and more compact than the previous 1300 cc engine from Honda.

Maruti automatic

Not even Michael Schumacher's launch of the Fiat Stilo is as exciting as the news that Maruti was likely to adopt the Antonov automatic transmission for some of its models. This transmission (gear box) was invented by Roumen Antonov, a refugee from Bulgaria who now lives in Paris. Mr. Antonov, originally a physicist, was imprisoned several times by Todor Zhivkov, the late Bulgarian dictator, for refusing to work on nuclear weapons, but that is another story....

His easy to use automatic is extremely efficient, simple and rugged and, in its basic four speed form, is only about 50 per cent more expensive than a good five speed manual gear box. It probably represents the most revolutionary advance in transmission design in the last 50 years. I drove two identical Opel Corsas (slightly larger than Maruti Zens) over a demanding circuit which was a mixture of fast driving on the level, on narrow city streets and a sharply twisting and very steep stretch. One of the Corsas had an Antonov gear box and the other an Easytronic robotised manual, which is available as a `standard option' on the Corsa. Both can be used either as full automatics or shifted manually.

The difference was breathtaking and the Antonov was as smooth as the best automatic I have driven so far, on the powerful new BMW 330i. Combined with its high efficiency and, therefore, low power loss and good fuel efficiency, it is truly a winner. This is particularly important in India where we tend not to change gears appropriately leading to high fuel consumption and rapid wear and tear of transmission components such as the clutch.

If Maruti, Suzuki, Gajra Gears (Antonov's Indian licensee) and Antonov can get their act together and quickly introduce the transmission commercially, not only will Maruti have a major competitive advantage, India will probably save 15 to 20 per cent of its petrol and reduce gaseous pollution.

C. Manmohan Reddy

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